A young boy's comic books are helping Manchester's homeless this winter.
Eight-year-old Ethan Welsh writes his own 'Splatoon' adventures and after seeing people sleeping rough in the city centre, decided he wanted to help.
The youngster sent his work off to a printers, with his £3 pocket money and a letter asking if his comic could be published to help raise money for the cause.
In his letter to instantprint, Ethan, a pupil at Heyes Lane Primary School in Timperley, said: “Me and my brother love comics and drawing Splatoon pictures. I also want to help people who have no home and will be cold this winter.
"I have made my own comics to sell to my friends and family and raise money for the homeless people. I hope you can print my comics please.”
Company bosses were only too happy to oblige and printed off dozens of copies of the comics for Ethan to hand out in return for a donation.
Adam Carnell, one of the founders of instantprint, said: “It’s great to see this kind of initiative form an eight-year-old. Especially when the perception these days is that we can’t get the kids off the iPad.
"As a man who built a company around printing, it’s great to see kids busting out the old-fashioned crayons and paper and being creative. “
Ethan, whose comics are based on the iconic Splatoon video games, was inspired to help after seeing people sleeping rough in the city centre during visits with his family.
His dad Jon said: "You do see a lot of people on the streets and he became curious about that and he had this brainwave that maybe he could combine his hobby with doing some good.
"So his mum and I said that sounds brilliant Ethan, go for it."
To buy a copy of the comic or make a donation, email instantprint@havas.com .
